Obstetric acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious unsolved global health-care problem and is a significant contributor to the overall burden of AKI resulting in devastating maternal and foetal outcomes. We studied the characteristics of obstetric AKI and the factors related to its unfavourable outcome. A total of 110 patients developed AKI among 10,138 admission giving a frequency of 1.08%. The commonest risk factor was pre-eclampsia followed by haemorrhage and sepsis. Complete recovery of renal function occurred in 40.9%. However, 9.1% were left with end-stage renal disease. AKI due to sepsis, delayed referral and deranged renal function on admission was associated with unfavourable outcome. AKI in pregnancy merits special attention because it involves risk to two lives, mother and foetus. Early identification of risk factors coupled with timely and efficient management will result in reducing obstetric AKI and associated maternal morbidity and mortality.
Keywords: Obstetrics; acute kidney injury; haemorrhage; pre-eclampsia; sepsis.